History of the World/History of the World (Bureau Development, Inc.)(1992).BIN/dp/0032/00323.txt

Text File | 1992-10-11 | 9KB | 166 lines

$Unique_ID{how00323}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Australia And The Islands Of The Sea
Chapter XXXVI.  Sumatra And Java.}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Larkin, Dunton}
$Affiliation{}
$Subject{east
town
built
java
rice
batavia
sumatra
dutch
houses
large}
$Date{}
$Log{}
Title:       Australia And The Islands Of The Sea
Author:      Larkin, Dunton

Chapter XXXVI.  Sumatra And Java.

     Sumatra lies directly under the equator.  It is separated from the
Malayan peninsula on the east by the Strait of Malacca, and on the southeast
from Java by the Strait of Sunda.  The east side of the island is an immense
plain, nearly as level as the sea.  On the west coast are three or four
separate chains of mountains running parallel with the shore.  There are about
twenty peaks that rise to a height of eight thousand feet.

     The streams on the west coast are numerous, but are little more than
mountain torrents.  On the east side are several large rivers, forming
extensive deltas at their mouths.

     The animals of Sumatra resemble those of Borneo.  The only antelope known
in the archipelago is the wild buck of Sumatra.

     The chief city is Palembang, built on a fine curve in a river of the same
name.  It is said that the natives are true Malays, never building a house on
dry land if they can find water to set it in, and never going anywhere on foot
if they can reach a place in a boat.  Consequently the stream is much narrowed
by the houses built on piles on both of its banks, and by a row of houses even
beyond these, built on bamboo rafts and moored to the shore by rattan cables.

     About three miles out of town is a hill which is held sacred by the
natives.  Its summit is shaded by fine fruit trees inhabited by a colony of
squirrels, which have become quite tame.  They have somewhat the movements of
mice, advancing a few feet, then suddenly pausing and gazing intently with
their large black eyes before advancing again.  The Dyaks, by their kindness,
often obtain the confidence of wild animals.

     Where the Malay villages are not built near a stream they are somewhat
peculiar and very picturesque.  A space of a few acres is surrounded by a
fence, and the houses are built within it with no reference to regularity.
They are raised upon posts about six feet from the ground, some being built of
planks and others of bamboo.  They are totally unfurnished inside, the floor
being covered with mats upon which the inmates sit or lie.  The appearance of
a village is very neat, the ground being swept before the principal houses.

     During the wet season the people live exclusively upon rice, which is
cooked dry and eaten with salt and red peppers.

     Java is the chief seat of Dutch power in the East.  It is an extremely
mountainous country, being traversed throughout its whole length by two
chains, forming ramifications sloping gently down to the sea.  Both chains are
thickly set with volcanoes, active and extinct, rising to a height of from six
thousand to twelve thousand feet.

     The animals are not like those of Borneo and Sumatra.  Neither the
elephant nor tapir are found here, but in the west part the one-horned
rhinoceros is not uncommon.  In some districts the royal tiger, the panther,
and the tiger cat keep the people in constant terror.

     Java possesses exceeding fertility, and an unrivaled vegetation covers
the ground.  Laurels, chestnuts, oaks, magnolias, and myrtles are common.  The
coasts are fringed with cocoanut trees, and vast rice fields are found farther
inland.  Coffee is extensively cultivated and yields a large harvest.

     The mode of government is unique and interesting.  The series of native
rulers is still retained, from the princes called regents down to the village
chiefs.  With each regent is placed a Dutch president, who is looked upon as
an elder brother, and whose orders take the form of recommendations, which
are, however, implicitly obeyed.  Along with each president is placed an
inspector, who, at stated times, visits every district, hears complaints
against the native chiefs, and looks after the government plantations.

     The religion of the Javanese is Mohammedanism.  Until recent years, the
Colonial Government discouraged all efforts directed toward the conversion of
the people to Christianity.  The Mohammedan creed was regarded as better
adapted for supplying their religious needs.  Of late years, however, a more
liberal policy has prevailed.

     Batavia is the capital of Java, and, when the prosperity of the Dutch
East India Company was at its height, it was appropriately styled the "Queen
of the East." It was the center and headquarters of the company, and it was
also the emporium through which the whole commerce of the East passed to and
from Europe.  The Dutch possessions of Ceylon, the Cape of Good Hope, and the
Moluccas depended for their supplies upon Java.  But since the foundation of
the town, the seashore has silted up to such an extent that the original
harbor of Batavia has been abandoned and a new port constructed at a point six
miles to the east.  The harbor works at Tanjon Priok, as the present port of
Batavia is called, and the railway which connects the town of Batavia and
port, are among the many improvements begun since 1875.  Ocean steamers of
four thousand and five thousand tons' burden can now be moored at these
wharfs, and there is a convenient and constant service of trains between the
port and the town.

     Batavia may be divided into three parts.  First, there is the business
quarter, the oldest, where the houses are tall and are built with balconies
and verandas, and where the streets are narrow; second, the Chinese quarter in
the center of the town, containing the bulk of the population, closely packed
in their green dwellings; and third, the Dutch town, where the officials, the
military, and the merchants reside.  The town is divided by a stream and
intersected by numerous canals.  A railway runs from one end of the place to
the other and the tramway runs from the town gate on the north to the statue
of Meester Cornelis on the south. Batavia has a population of 112,000,
Surakarta 102,000, and Surabaya nearly 150,000.

     The Javanese are natural artists, and nowhere is this inborn perception
more clearly manifested than in the color and form of their dress.  They wear
light cotton and silken cloths admirably adapted to the climate.  Both men and
women alike wear the "sarong," a long decorated cloth, wound around the lower
limbs and fastened at the waist.  Over this the men wear a short open jacket,
and the women a long cloak, fastened at the waist by a silver pin.  A long
scarf is flung gracefully over the right shoulder.  It is used by the mothers
to carry their babes, and as a belt by the men when engaged in active work.
On their heads the men wear a square cloth which resembles a turban, over
which is worn a large straw hat for protection against the sun.  The women
wear nothing, but occasionally carry a bamboo umbrella for a similar
protection.

     The better class of natives use European furniture, but the poorer class
have none except a bed and a chest for clothes, both made of bamboo. The
staple diet is rice and dried fish, with vegetables and fruit.  The cooking
arrangements are very simple, nearly everything being cooked in a frying pan.

     Rice culture is a prominent pursuit of the Javanese.  The land of Java is
naturally divided into two classes: that capable of being inundated by
streams, called "sawah," and the remainder, called "gaga." On the latter the
mountain rice and Indian corn are grown.  On the former rice is grown in
terraces, a perfectly natural and perpetual supply of water being gained from
the high mountains.  The small fields are worked with a hoe, and the large
ones with a plow, and then inundated.  After ten or fifteen days they are hoed
or harrowed again, and finally small trenches are cut for the water to flow
from one terrace to another.  When the earth is a mass of liquid mud, the
young plants, sown in beds a month before, are transplanted carefully into
this soft mud.  Inundation is necessary until the rice is nearly ripe.  It is
reaped with a short knife, by means of which the reaper cuts off each separate
head with a few inches of stem.  The ears are threshed in the hollow trunk of
a tree, being stamped with a heavy piece of wood having a broad end.  The men
do the plowing, harrowing, and weeding; the women, the planting, reaping, and
threshing.

     The Javanese are particularly skillful in the making of mats, of which
there are many kinds.  A light sort of covering for the floor is made from the
leaves of the wild pineapple.  A stronger kind is made from the bark of a
species of palm, and is used to cover walls and ceilings. Mattings are also
made from canes imported from Sumatra.

     The carpenters are very clever, and easily imitate European designs
handed to them.  In spite of this aptitude for higher industries, however, the
present commercial system compels the mass of the people to remain mere
peasants.